Pride And Joy
by kclaura2003
Summary: Daryl takes Beth to a blues bar. Fluffy, AU, one-shot.


**A fluffy, AU Bethyl drabble. **

**"Pride And Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan. **

**I do not own The Walking Dead.**

**Enjoy!**

She wanted to go dancing.

"Women _always_ wanna dance," Merle advised him, long ago, about the opposite sex.

"What if I don't know how?" Daryl asked his older brother.

Merle snickered and the Cheshire cat-like grin spread across his face and with a patronizing pat on Daryl's cheek he said:

"Well then, you best be learnin'. Or you'll just be dancin' by yourself, baby brotha. If, you, uh…get my drift."

Daryl, a pre-teen at the time, didn't get the implication his older brother was making but twenty years later and some experience under his belt, he figured out Merle was right.

Women like dancing. They didn't care if you were Fred Astaire or had two left feet, they just liked a man that would set aside his ego long enough take them out and twirl them around a dance floor a few times.

Daryl's girl, Beth, wanted to go dancing. She was tired of the usual dinner and a movie dates, she wanted to do something different. She wanted to get dressed up, have a night out on the town and forget about school and work.

"OK," Daryl told Beth. He was willing to take her dancing if that's what she really wanted.

She wanted to go to some trendy, hip-hop club. He told her of a hole-in-the-wall tavern, out in the sticks, he knew where they could line dance.

"Spare me!" Beth said, rolling her eyes.

"OK, what's it gonna be, then?" Daryl thought out loud. He'd rather drink bleach than go to some overrated, overpriced hip-hop club where white, rich, suburban college kids go to get "jiggy with it" or whatever the hell they called it nowadays.

Her face fell slightly and it made his heart sink. They hadn't been dating very long but she had him wrapped around her finger. He'd cave and take her to the club if that's what she really wanted.

"I don't care where we go," Beth said. "I just wanna hear some good music, dance and have a good time."

Daryl considered her for a moment. She was a musician. She often got gigs at small venues, coffeehouses and the like, showcasing up-and-coming singer-songwriters. He didn't know what to call her music. Her voice was sweet but she wasn't exactly pop; she played the guitar but she wasn't exactly country either. Regardless, she had more musical talent in her left pinkie than he did in his whole body and he was proud of her.

An idea sprung into his mind and without thinking he asked her:

"Do you like the blues?"

Beth blinked at his question, her brow wrinkled with confusion like she wasn't sure where he was going with it.

"Yeah," She replied, tentatively. "I mean, it's alright…Why? Nobody ever goes dancing to the blues."

Daryl couldn't help but grin. "You'd be surprised."

It amused him that she was probably having a better time than he was. The bar, illuminated by the neon lights, cast an reddish glow over her little black dress. Her freshly curled blonde locks bounced when he'd give her a twirl. He didn't know very many steps and told her so but she didn't seem to care.

The band finished their set and while a new group began setting up to take the stage, Daryl led Beth to the counter, ordered a couple of shots and watched her watching everybody else.

"Are you having fun?" Daryl asked.

Beth nodded. "At first I wasn't sure about coming here. But I really like it!"

They'd already been there about three hours and were about to call it a night when the new group started to play.

The guitarist let rip on a familiar riff that made Daryl pause. He turned back to Beth, who was fiddling around inside her clutch.

"You wanna dance more one time?" He asked.

"Huh?!" Beth yelled over the music but he didn't ask again.

Instead, he smiled and led her back on the floor. He gave her a dramatic spin, a little too fast, because she was caught off-guard and stumbled backwards. He reached forward and caught her arm. She laughed and gazed at him in wonder and surprise at his sudden boldness.

"Well you've heard about love givin' sight to the blind" The singer sang. "My baby's lovin' cause the sun to shine/She's my sweet little thing/She's my pride and joy."

Daryl pulled Beth close to him, almost flush with his body.

"She's my sweet little baby…" The song continued. "I'm her little lover boy."

Taking her hands in his, he rocked her side-to-side. He led her around the floor, their noses nearly touching. He wondered if she'd ever heard this song before. He figured she might be a little too young to know it but it was possible she did. He hadn't heard this one in awhile but every lyric seem to sum up how he felt about her.

"Yeah, I love my baby, my heart and soul/Love like ours won't ever grow old/She's my sweet little thing/She's my pride and joy/She's my sweet little baby/I'm her little lover boy."

"Lover boy", that's what he expected Merle to label him once his older brother found out about this girl. Merle was dense in some areas but he'd see right through this. Daryl was a goner.

"Yeah, I love my baby/She's long and lean/You mess with her you see a man get mean…"

That was the truth. Anybody say anything or do anything to make his girl cry, they were gonna cry that was for sure, Daryl determined.

"She's my sweet little thing/She's my pride and joy/She's my sweet little baby/I'm her little lover boy…"

The band went into the guitar solo. Daryl spun Beth three times and then she fell back into his arms. She was breathless and he felt the sweat dripping down the sides of his face.

"Well, I love my baby like the finest wine/Stick with her til the end of time..."

She's my sweet little baby, Daryl sung to himself. Beth rested her head on his chest as he rocked her gently to the end of the song.

She's my pride and joy and I'm her little lover boy…


End file.
